Undying Amaranth
by Ebony-Thorn
Summary: ON HAITUS UNTIL SUMMER, I'm sorry! Finals weeks! EDIT: I had a moment of free time, and uploaded chapter three. I will be working on further chapters whenever I can. Thank all of you for reviewing, viewing, favoriting, and not destroying me!
1. Chapter 1: Discovery

LADY SEPTIMA HATH RETURNED.

Okay, so here's the scoop:

After I was banned from the computer, I was given an hour time limit during which I could be on the computer…supervised. I had neither time nor opportunity to type this story. However, I now have my own computer, in my room, with zero restrictions, and it has become possible once again for me to post my story.

I have lost several chapters, as they were deleted from our old computer after I had mistakenly thought it was all fully backed up (-_-)' Not to worry. I am in the process of fully refurbishing the story anyhow, so it may actually be to my advantage. In any case, I'm back, and I'm ready to go.

(-_-)

Link gazed about himself. He found, unfortunately, that he was surrounded by a room that appeared as nothing but water and fog and barred doors. The single, distinguishable landmark that stood out against the endless grey was a single, dead, petrified tree. Link approached it, stepping onto the sandbank in which the flora was rooted; it was the only place he could stand without getting more of the frigid water in his boots. He sighed. He could see no way out revealing itself yet; and he was already tired, irritable, and exhausted from the prior incidents in the bloody fucking Water Temple. And how was he to survive long in this room when his provisions were nearly spent? The only upside to this was that somehow, in this room, the almost static buzz in the recesses of his mind had dulled.

But Link wasn't one to sit about and mope, much less one to admit defeat readily. He approached the barred door opposite the entry, and were the door not growing larger with his being nearer to it with each step, he would not have known he was moving; the scenery around him was unchanging, still life as if in a painting. He found this prospect frightening. If he remained in this room, he would…he would surely lose his mind. And with considerable swiftness.

He reached the door, kicked it half-heartedly with the toe of his soggy boot, and felt a deep depression come over him as he began to pout. This was not supposed to happen. There was always a way out, each puzzle seemed as if created for him to solve, if only he found the key to the solution. He bit his bottom lip to prevent frustrated tears from leaving his eyes, and turned back towards the island that harbored the petrified tree.

Someone was standing there.

Whoever it was, they were wearing dark clothes—darker than any pitch black he'd ever seen, as though they were made of the intangible shadows themselves. He could not clearly see the figure, due to the fog, but one feature was prominent and unmistakable.

The figure standing on the island, leaning on the tree as if they were at complete ease in this wretched room, obviously had blood red eyes, which could be seen glowing from within their dark clothes. Their clothes…whatever they were wearing, it was all over them, covering up every patch of skin. Or so he thought, until he was closer on the lone figure. He realized upon approaching that it was naught but their skin which was so far darker than pitch black; in fact, their clothes seemed much more as if he could easily reach out and touch them without them slipping between his fingers as shadow does between rays of light.

But the most striking thing was that the shadowy thing was garbed in a parallel edition of his own clothing, his weapons likewise. The only explaination Link could derive from all this was that Ganondorf had created this…copy, so to speak, and destroying it would be the key to his escape. He approached, his fingers reaching the Master Sword's hilt as he took his battle stance.

The shadow-shrouded thing tilted its head, as if in thought, and then before Link could realize it had ceased this motion, it had its sword drawn and had begun a swing at Link. He dodged, rolling off to the side as was his now-acquired nature, and rose to his feet impressively while simultaneously removing his sword and shield from his back.

But just as they left his back, something else was on it. The shadow-creature had assailed him from behind! How?!? Link's muscles tensed, and he expected to have his throat slit before he could realize himself that he was dead, as things seemed to go without his realizing in this particular battle.

However, he was surprised and more than a little…freaked out…when the creature gleefully exclaimed,

"Piggy back ride! C'mon, carry me around the room or I'll slit your damn throat. If I'm gonna have to kill you anyway, I may as well enjoy m'self first!"

This gave Link no incentive to obey his adversary, and he shook the mad thing from his back before whirling around to strike. The creature was on the ground, legs spread in an awkward position from having been indignantly dropped. Link's sword struck downward, nearly making contact right into the shadow's lower abdomen; it moved, however, seeming insulted (though it was hard to tell due to it's facial features being obscured by shadows).

"Bloody hell! Watch where you stick that fucking thing, there's an appendage right there that I like a lot!"

Link was confused. Ganon's minions weren't supposed to be able to speak, much less make light of a battle situation. He faltered, dropping his guard for only a second, which proved to be a mistake. Again before he could register the action, the thing struck, this time apparently so fast that its shadowy skin-covering was left behind. It jumped Link, pinning him to the ground with a strength he hadn't encountered in all his battles (except perhaps the one with the cuucoo swarm); its legs straddled and pinned his, the creature's hands keeping his wrists unmoving above his head. Not only that, his cap had also come off. Link was in no way pleased, and was certain he was about to die. He gazed up at his attacker, seeing for the first time the actual face—it was an exact copy of his, aside from black hair adorning his head and deep, piercing red eyes gazing into his own, sparkling with triumph and perhaps catty pride.

"Y'know, if you treat all strangers this way, it's no wonder my master wants you dead," the shadow smirked, his eyes shining with jest. "But, actually…you're kinda pretty, know that?"

Link's eyes widened and then became half-lidded with the wry realization that the creature looked exactly like him, and it's latter sentiment could be translated as pure narcissism.

"I can't seem to bring myself to kill someone as pretty as you. Do you know how much that bothers me? I've committed mass genocide personally with the very blade I lashed out at you with, yet I can't bring myself to kill a single boy who happens to have some looks about him. Perhaps I've grown soft, being locked in here all these years…"

Link's expression became slightly questioning, but he was far more concentrated on whether the man's grip on his wrists was slackening than his babbling.

"Lookey here, poppet," the thing purred suddenly in his ear, causing the poor Hero to have a muscle spasm, and then shiver with slight disgust when he realized the shadow had used a slang pet name to address him.

"I want to leave…you want to leave…seems to me, that, for the interest of both of us, it would be better for me to just let you walk out that door—"

Link gasped, in disbelief that a minion of Ganon would let him leave so easily, in one piece, and with his life intact.

The shadow smirked.

"—On a few conditions…"

Link's enthusiasm subsided notably.

"One," and following this single word the shadow's face darkened and fell, and he appeared as more of a lost child who'd seen too many tragedies in a short life than a blood-thirsty servant of evil, "take me with you!" he whined, and his eyes seemed about to brim over with tears. Link nodded hastily, almost without thinking about it, he realized, just to prevent the creature above him from shedding tears (particularly while still pinning him to the ground in a suggestive manner—that would be simply too bizarre)

The shadow's face brightened, and his cocky manner re-asserted itself as he continued:

"Two," he paused as if mentally assembling his next statement, "you have to promise to be my best friend, and never leave me alone, ever."

"…"

"Promise!" This followed with a small but painful jab to his ribs.

"Ugh! I promise to be your best friend, and never leave you alone."

"Ever."

"Ever…"

"Promise?"

"…Promise…"

"Do you promise?"

"I said I promise!"

"That's three times you promised," the shadow grinned playfully, "Now I have justification to kill you if you break it."

Link groaned in exasperation, but it was apparently misinterpreted, because the shadow raised an eyebrow before taking on a catty expression and leaning down to nibble Link's ear.

Link's eyes widened further than any previously known human being's had been thought able to.

"Since you're enjoying this fiasco, why don't we play before I let you go?" The brunette was purring into his ears now, but Link felt himself shivering from the implication. What was the deal with this man? One moment he behaved like a child, the next like a genocidal, psychotic sex kitten.

"I was expressing my exasperation with your idiocrisy, you madman!" Link shouted, pushing the other off and onto his derrierre into the water. He looked like a disappointed child. He soon recovered, however, positioning himself on all fours and crawling through the grey water to the blond, who sat frozen (and feeling slightly molested). He reached the other, looking up at him through his long, dark eyelashes.

"Well, I can understand you not allowing me _that_…" the shadow's manner mimicked that of a kitten, "but…can I just have one little kiss? You dropped me on my ass twice, and were really mean to me, when I didn't do anything to you at all…isn't that fair?"

Link didn't understand how apology kisses fit under the criteria of 'best friends', but he had a feeling he wouldn't be leaving the blasted room until he gave the shadow what he desired. He grumbled a bit before slowly and embarrassedly (A/N: holy crap, 'embarrassedly' is seriously a word!) bending his head down until his nose was in contact with his shadow's (for he was now certain that the shadow was him in one form or another); the other man leaned his head back, and both their eyes closed before the brunette gently pressed his lips against Link's mouth, and the Hero couldn't deny having a pleasant sensation arise from that contact that he enjoyed (just a little! Well…perhaps quite a lot.). A long period of time seemed to pass with just the gentle contact between them, before Link found himself suddenly pinned (again…not at his best today, it would seem) with the shadow now kissing him with heat and considerably more passion. He squirmed against the unexpected sensuality, but eventually ceased doing so as he felt a queer sensation spreading through his being, as if he was filling something that had been empty before. (A/N: haha, I said 'queer'…okay, no more pointless interruptions now, promise)

After a few seconds that seemed to last for an eternity, the shadow broke away, his pupils dilated larger and his breathing ragged. But Link could, and knew the shadow must as well, feel the sensation of being whole lingering between them. The buzzing in his mind had dissipated entirely.

The shadow grinned before rising, leaving Link feeling a slight draft run across the space where the shadow had been sitting. He felt his lip push into a slight pount at the unpleasant chill.

The shadow offered his hand to the blond, taking him up off the floor into a standing position. Link blushed, the reality that he'd just kissed a man (and enjoyed it) sinking in fully, and his humiliation was contributed to partly by the fact that his darkness seemed to be quite proud of himself. A moment of silence passed.

"…don't…don't harbor the assumption that I will allow that to become a habit," Link commanded, more attempting to convince himself than the brunet, who merely gave him a sultry look and led the way to the now open door.

Link stayed in place for a moment, realizing that by following the shadow out of the room, he was about to make his life far more complicated and dangerous.

He realized he didn't care and strode after the strange man standing in the doorway, waiting.

"For the sake of convenience, and the fact that we are to be friends, perhaps you could grant me a name to know you by?"

The ex-evil minion (or so Link hoped) tilted his head in thought before replying:

"I have none."

"Surely someone has granted you a name! What have others known you by?"

The shadow was in thought again.

"…most folk called me Demon, Infidel, Village Burner, Murderer, Man-Corrupter—"

"Ugh!" Link exclaimed, beginning to wonder if it would be safe to be seen traveling with his new 'best friend' (whom he'd also kissed, in case you forgot). "If it suits your fancy, I would be willing to know you by the name…Ganon…gave you…" Link said, gritting his teeth. The shadow paused in thought again.

"Well, he normally called me Bitch, Wench, Slave, Whore, Dumbass…and numerous other things, and on one occasion he called me Icing, but he was asleep and I can't be sure he was actually talking to—"

The shadow paused, noting an unhealthy twitch seeming to manifest itself in the blond's eye.

"Do you feel all right? Do you want a kiss?"

Link grimaced. That was the last thing he wanted at the moment.

"Shadow…what was…the nature of your relations concerning Ganon?"

The brunet's face lost colour (if that was possible), and his eyes became hard and cold, like a shell had been cast over them to disallow anyone to peer into his soul. He turned his back to the other.

"That isn't important. Now, do you want me to lead you out of here, or would you prefer to stay here for the rest of whatever miserable existence you can live out in this place?"

Link sighed, dropping the subject for the moment, before walking by the shadow's side into the next watery chamber. There was a tense silence between them for a moment, but as Link was bending over to open the chest in the room, his companion squeezed his buttocks while at an advantage, which started them bickering; and Link knew he was forgiven.

|..| (-_-) |..|

...Wow, that sucked remarkably!!!! Anyway, please review, I'll probably have this updated soon since I feel inspired at this time…but I still have homework, so it may not be tomorrow. Anyway, enjoy this landmark of my return…those of you who read the original, tell me what you think of this in comparison…it's what I originally intended, but I'm not certain it's as good…you tell me!

~Lady Septima (Ebony-Thorn)


	2. Chapter 2: Bondage, I Mean, Bonding!

Hey all! I'm still inspired and I don't have to study for AIMS just yet, so I'm wiriting up a new chapter. Thanks to my current 2 reviewers, and by the way, please read this chapter as well…and tell me if it's not as good as the first, people, please! Also please point out any grammatical/spelling errors to me.

The sight that greeted them upon leaving the Water Temple was a restored Lake Hylia, the water having returned to its former state and the sky no longer pouring rain, but revealing a bright sun. It was the first time the shadow had been exposed to the sun, and his eyes took longer to adjust than Link's; but when they did, he gazed wide-eyed at the sights. He had been trapped in the temple seven years ago, and before that, Hyrule looked much different from how it did now. The earth's vitality had a depression to it, as if it was almost ready to give up. Despite the sun warming it, encouraging it, Gaia's soul could not be revived to its former glory now. There was too much suffering; no mother could sit by and watch their children suffer, and behave as if nothing was happening.

To be honest, though, the dark being knew nothing of the outside world. All he'd been taught was to kill on sight, which was why he'd been locked in solitary confinement any time Ganon didn't want to use him for massacres—genocides, even—and he was somewhat overwhelmed. How was he to survive out here? If he killed everyone, he would be unable to eat. He became frightened about the future for him, and drew the shadows back to himself. He always felt safer when he was afraid if he had his dark shield about him.

He closed his eyes, feeling the dark blanket around him, when he heard Link, the pretty young hero, shouting:

"Shadow! Don't…!"

His eyes snapped open, red pools sparkling with amusement at this reaction, and repelled the shadows from himself.

"What?"

"D-don't…do that anymore!" Link stammered, looking angry; but the shadow was not to be fooled—he could smell fear rolling off the boy like mist from a swamp. The smell was delicious to him, made him want to…but no, he couldn't kill his only best friend, could he? That would be mean! But it would be fun. But, what if it hurt Link's feelings? It wouldn't matter if he was dead…but—

His musings were interrupted by another figure appearing at the island's shore.

"Lake Hylia has been restored…you did it, Link! Soon, Hyrule will be restored to its former glory—"

The man paused when he noticed two of the same man standing before him. He looked calculatingly from Link, to the shadow, Link, shadow, Link, shadow…

"What…?" He began hesitantly.

"It is…difficult to explain, Sheik. However, from what I've been able to gather, this…being is some part of me, and more than a mindless minion of Ganon. He is traveling with me for an extension of time," Link defended quickly. Sheik's gaze was intense on the shadow, and the brunette seemed to shrink like a child being gazed at by a hungry tygre.

"I sense malice from him, Link. It would be in your best interest, I believe, to abandon this creature as a traveling partner."

What? Link _leave_ him? But they were friends! And he would be…alone! No! He would never be alone again! _Jamais_! He wouldn't allow for Link to be taken away now, not now that he knew the blond was something important to him—something he knew in whatever twisted heart he had that he couldn't live without. No, it wasn't _he _who would be the one to go; it was this…spandex-clad freak…who would be leaving. And promptly.

"_Baisez-vous_!" The shadow exclaimed, shocking Spandex-Lad with his sudden outburst, and speaking in tongues to boot.

"Wha—"

"How dare you! You bloody, _fucking_ pansy-ass! Link is my **best friend**! _**MINE**_! (This last being shouted loudly and gutturally as to be heard from any neighboring nations) And _you_ can't make me leave him! You think you can strut in here, without invitation, and declare that I am a threat to him without _any_ evidence! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU SONOFABITCH!!!!"

"O_O"

He rushed Sheik, reaching to draw a weapon he realized he didn't have anymore (it had strangely disappeared after destroying Morpha), and instead settling for throwing a punch. It hit the man squarely in the face, but before it could make full impact, he disappeared.

"What? _Baise il_!" The shadow whirled about, but the spandex-clad blond had disappeared. He turned back to Link, grinning triumphantly.

"Well, at least I got rid of him…"

Link groaned and smacked his face with his palm before turning to walk away. The shadow stood where he was, attempting to decipher the blond's behavior. But when Link reached the small islet between the wooden connecting bridges, he felt a sharp pain in his head that sent him sprawling to the ground. The shadow gasped, clutching his head. Empty…empty! He was so empty now…slipping into a haze of solitude, drowning in his own emptiness…

He felt a sensation of being shaken awake when he heard Link scream.

_Link…I have to find him! I have to get up! _ _**Je dois il aide**_…

He pushed himself to his hands and knees, and crawled to the fallen hero, stumbling a few times due to the migraine blotting his vision. He reached the blond, and pulled him out of his fetal position to hold his torso, stroking his hair. The pain disappeared instantly, and as their breathing and heartbeats slowed, they fell down beside each other to lie in the grass.

"What…happened?" The pretty man asked, his voice tired as if he'd been exerting a great effort.

"I'm not sure…but I think maybe you and I shouldn't…split up anytime soon. Our minds—our souls, I guess—don't want to be apart anymore."

The Hero gazed at him with confusion, but it was tinged with amusement.

"And exactly what was that statement founded upon?"

"Hell, I don't know, just the first thing that came into my head. Are we leaving or not? Let's go!"

The shadow rose, helping Link to the ground as well.

"Go where?"

"What do you mean? You have an evil to purge, poppet."

Link grimaced slightly at the slang pet name, but recovered just as quickly.

"Well, it is not of my knowledge exactly WHERE I am supposed to be going, which was why Sheik was here—to tell me my next objective!"

His hands were on his hips, and he looked huffy. The shadow resisted laughing, for knowledge of the fact that it would only succeed in pissing the Hero off.

Before the shadow could invent a substantial reply, he heard a splash. It seemed Spandex-Lad had been there all along. The shadow rushed to the waterside from which the splash had originated.

"You son of a bitch! THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU, I WILL KICK YOUR OVERLY-PRONOUNCED ASS!!!" He screamed as loudly as his lungs would permit. Link appeared mortified, but still bent to the water to remove from the lake a bottle with a paper inside. He popped the cork and read the message.

"'Before the next Temple can even become accessible to you, Hero," he read, "it would be wise to first travel to the past and scour Kakariko's well to find the mystical item believed to be hidden there."

Believed to be? Gee, sounded promising. But the shadow loved to kill, and now more than ever he needed to do so—what better way to relieve his desire than to kill the minions of the very man who had been his greatest nightmare and oppressor? His lips parted into a disturbing smile at the mere thought of exacting his revenge, however subtly.

Link was disconcerted.

"Shadow…let us be off. If you would prefer, we could ride Epona, rather than using magic to arrive at the Temple of Time. I am not certain of the details of your imprisonment, however I expect it may please you to see the outside world…" Link blushed when the brunet only stared.

"I think…heh, I'd like that, my pretty…let's follow up on that plan, yes…"

Link's blush deepened with the shadow's new usage of the pet name 'pretty' to address him, which was precisely what the shadow had expected. He smiled crookedly and stepped closer to the Hero, so their bodies were pressed together, trying to meld into the other boy if only to expand the marvelous sensation of closeness…

…of being complete.

Link's head remained downcast, but he sighed, which the dark-haired man took as incentive; he placed a finger beneath the fair man's chin and lifted his face, leaning down to kiss him. Link's eyes were closed, the lashes seeming gracefully dark against his pale skin. Their hearts beat faster as they came closer and closer to making contact, and finally the brunet's lips brushed against the other's…

…And he pulled away as if he'd just been bitten. Rejection and humiliated rage came over the shadow as he glared at the other.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" He demanded, taking hold of Link's wrist.

"I—I can't, I…shadow, I have to know this! What," the elf's eyes were watery with emotion, "was the nature of your relationship concerning…Ganon?"

The shadow's eyes darkened as he felt unfortunate memories come over him. He turned his head away from the other. Not _this_ again…what was his problem? Did he feel like he wasn't worth the trouble if he'd been in a prior love relationship? He didn't wan't to talk about what had happened while he was under Ganon's command—at Ganon's _mercy_.

"That isn't important. Stop asking about it."

"T'is important to me, Dark!"

What was that? Had he been given a name?

"Why? Why does it matter so much? What's wrong with you? I'm _sorry_ if you aren't my first lover! It isn't _my_ fault!"

Link bit his lip, his eyes large and round like a small puppy. The shadow liked puppies…

"If you refuse to tell me…then I cannot kiss you. I should be repulsed by it if I were to do so."

The shadow (or Dark, as his pretty Hero had called him) widened his eyes in shock, hurt, and anger.

"…The fuck?"

"Dark, I can't…kiss you, if the thought is with me that I am, however indirectly, sharing physical sentiments with Ganon!"

What color was in 'Dark's' face drained away. He looked and felt dead.

"You think I…kissed him?"

Link's gaze was unshifting but hurt.

"I never kissed _that_! What the hell, in all the Universe, would make you think I would be that fucking _disgusting_!"

He was indignant, hurt…didn't Link realize that no one in their sane mind would kiss Ganon? The very thought was repulsive (and is probably about to make the readers barf).

Link took his hand, and he didn't have it in him to pull away; he settled for remaining limp.

"I'm sorry, it's just…"

"I know."

They stood in silence for some moments, Dark facing the ground and Link trying to gaze into his eyes.

"Dark…there is something wrong with you when Ganon is mentioned. What has he done to you?" The blond's voice shook slightly with mixed emotions—anger at whatever Ganon may have done, hurt that Dark would not confide in him…but mostly fear of what the reply would be.

"I can't talk about it now," Dark mumbled, and Link was struck with another pang of rejection, "but eventually…I just…ugh, give me a bit."

Link nodded.

"Very well."

Dark pulled the fairer man into his chest, burying his face in his hair, breathing him in…he smelled like the forest, like righteous fury, like hope…so much better than Ganon and his kin, who smelled of nothing but rot and death.

Link tilted his head back to look up into Dark's red eyes. They appeared a bit glazed, as if he was deep in thought, but the shadow took him by surprise by suddenly pulling Link flush against him and kissing him roughly. Link returned the sentiment after recovering from the initial shock, but may have somewhat regretted doing so when Dark took him to the ground, pinning him and becoming more heated. He began kissing the elf's neck.

"Dark…"

He couldn't hear him. He was too caught up, trying to stimulate that complete feeling…trying to erase the ache inside of him…

"Dark, please…this is becoming uncomfortable."

He could hear strain in the other's voice, smell his fear…he paused before smiling up at the other and nipping his neck. Link yelped, his muscles spasming beneath the brunet. The wound didn't bleed, only became a red bump.

"Wh-what…?"

Dark sat beside the elf, allowing him to sit up, before replying.

"Remember that you're mine now…" he growled sensuously. Link's eyes widened before he picked up a sultry air and scooted closer to the other, burying his head in the brunet's chest. Dark could again breathe in that smell…

He was suddenly aware of a pain in his neck. The sly little Hero had taken the opportunity to make a small mark of his own.

"Why you…!" The shadow exclaimed in mock anger and indignance. Link grinned, his eyes sparkling with play, before running over the bridge towards shore. Dark followed, chuckling internally. He'd never had actual fun before, he'd been to busy pillaging. Then again, he'd never liked anyone before, either. He would kill anyone as soon as look at them, just because he felt like it…

…anyone but his Hero.

XXX

Wow, this one took a while but it's actually about 400 words shorter...next one will be longer though, promise :D

Translations for when Dark was speaking 'in tongues'.

Baiser: the Infinitive for the french word meaning, 'to fuck'.

Baisez-vous: Fuck you

Aidez-il: help him!


	3. Chapter 3: Pain

*Peeks from behind a sheild* um, yeah, I had a bit of free time to finish this up, so I uploaded...are you guys mad at me?

*Evades as many blunt, round objects are projected at her head*

I'm sorry! I promise I'll have more time when school gets out. Please be patient with me until June. Anyway, I'd like to thank:

**Chris Lorieag: I promise, no piggy backs, crappy french translations, or shadow shields. Sorry for disappearing like that!**

**Eternal Lost Girl: Hello, and I'm sorry but...Dark speaks a little en francais...but you still love me, right...? 3**

**Bigfefan: Yup, it's chapter 3! Again, my apologies for the hiatus.**

**H2O JustAddBlackWater: My favorite part is O_O too!**

**9mm Kisses: Haha, confusing others with your bilingual advantages is so much fun! Keep freaking people out, mon amie.**

**Classified Lemon: OMG!!! I have a fangirl!!!! Ouais!!!! I have reached a precipice...**

They completed their journey, arriving at the Temple of time in nigh on three days. As promised, the pair had ridden there on Epona. Link was amused by his shadow's misconception that 'Epona' was the name of the species; it had taken rather a lot of explaining on Link's end to clarify the Epona was the name…of the horse. Epona had stared at dark upon first seeing him, then looked from Link to Dark and back again, seeming confused. She settled for biting both of them and gave them no more trouble.

Horses.

As he stared at the remarkably high archway in the Temple of Time, Link thought back to the first night he and Dark had been camped after a full day of riding and walking interspersely (so as to save Epona; the horse was unaccustomed to carrying two young men).

"_Epona…she is a magnificent horse…" Dark commented, poking the campfire idly with a stick._

"_Some villagers have gone so far as to remark that she's the finest in this land; however, I believe they exaggerate," Link replied, flushing slightly for the (ridiculous) reason that he actually sought approval from the evil son-of-a-bitch he was traveling with._

"_It's probably true. After all, her rider is the finest man in this land; for the finest man, the finest horse. It's only fitting."_

_Link flushed so dark a red that he hoped the shadow didn't have night vision with which to see him._

"_You exaggerate."_

"_I never exaggerate."_

_Link visibly twitched at the falsehood of this statement. Not five minutes ago the shadow had said that he'd been bitten by something, and the wound was bleeding profusely…and excreting something green. Inspection had revealed that the wound was not bleeding even the slightest. He'd been exaggerating, and, consequently, had been exaggerating by saying he never exaggerated._

"_I thank you for the complement, however undeserved it may be. Now, though, we should rest. We've two days' journey ahead."_

"_I don't sleep," the shadow blurted, and Link gazed at him in an ogling fashion._

"_Come again?"_

"_I don't…sleep. I don't know why, but it doesn't matter. Sleeping is a waste of time, anyway. I'd rather stay awake and look at the lights up there in the sky, and listen to all the noises out there. Feel the wind. I've never experienced this before; back in the Room of Illusions, it was nothing but water and mist and unseen walls," he explained, looking at the sky in a melancholy fashion._

_They sat in silence for a bit, Link (not having much experience as emotional support) not knowing what to say._

"_As you please," he relented finally, "you can keep watch for danger, I suppose."_

_The shadow nodded, and as Link fell asleep, he thought he heard the brunet growling to himself:_

"_Anything that tries to hurt my Hero is not danger. It is __**in**__ danger."_

Link realized he must have been blushing at the thought of the incident, because the shadow became frisky and pulled the blond into his chest from behind. Link cried out in shock as Dark lifted him off the ground and swung him in a small arc from side to side before releasing him.

Link was blushing and spluttering in indignation, but to his chagrin the brunet seemed unaffected.

"Wh-what on this good Earth possessed you to do something so…so bloody _forward_?"

Dark simply smiled, and looked so much like an overjoyed young child that Link wondered what the shadow's motive had been. Link shook it off and walked up to the Master Sword's dias, preparing to strike the stone. The shadow wrapped his arms tightly around the blond. Link hesitated.

"Problem?" The shadow queried, tensing a bit.

"I only wonder…if you are able to follow me through time's flow."

The shadow's red eyes flashed and his pupils shrank nearly out of existence. However, his words were even:

"Who's makin' the rules around here? I don't see any signs around that say, 'No Black-Garbed Fags Allowed in Time's Flow'."

Link stiffened at his language, but couldn't help but agree. But his intuition still nagged at him.

"I'll just have to hold on tight," the shadow chuckled, although Link could sense he was a bit anxious. The brunet held on tightly—if not for dear life—and Link himself didn't know what would happen if the other man lost his grip.

Link struck the Master Sword's pedestal, and a stream of blue-grey light rose around them. The force was so much that it blew Link's tunic straight up, revealing his breeches, and he caught a whisper of the shadow formulating a mischievous idea; but he didn't act on it, possibly afraid to fall away from the other. The stream stopped; Link was a child again.

And he was alone on the dais.

The last thought he could form before buckling under the crushing pain in his head was that his shadow would be in pain as well.

Sheik had seen everything that had happened. He wasn't _spying_ on them, necessarily; he'd just been making sure Link didn't do something klutzy and screw up.

Well…that was a portion of the inspiration. He was really there because he was curious about Link's doppelganger, not to mention worried about what this being's substance could possibly be. After all, Link had entered a deadly temple infested with monsters and emerged with an almost-twin whom it caused him pain to be away from. It was driving Sheik mad with curiosity, actually, and he was starting to think that perhaps he should follow Link through the next temple, just in case next time the blond came out with a triplet.

This is what he was thinking when they'd struck the Master Sword's pedestal. Before he could stop them, the stream of time's flow engulfed them. Ugh! Despite his efforts, Link had done something stupid. Didn't he _know_ that only one person could wield the Master Sword and control time? Couldn't he even _guess_…?

He had to stand by for the few seconds that the stream continued, but when it dispelled, only one of the two was left. Dark. And he looked…

…like he was dead.

Dark lay on the floor, face down. He couldn't even move. Link was gone; he was empty. However, his own feeling of void was not his most prevalent concern. He recalled the night before, when they'd been camped; what he'd said as Link fell asleep that he knew the other had heard…

_I promise we'll never feel that emptiness again. I'll never get too far away. I won't let anything hurt you, not even myself._

The shadow cringed from the sharp pang of overwhelming grief he felt at having broken his promise. He knew, too, from the last time it had happened, that his Hero was experiencing the same pain…three fold.

He was overcome with guilt, though he couldn't place the emotion (having never felt it before). His lungs burned, his heart beat very quickly; he broke into a cold sweat; then his heartbeat slowed gradually and his breathing shallowed. He was becoming weaker every moment, though he couldn't think what to do to change that.

He felt a strong hand smack his upper back, causing him to exhale. He then inhaled. That proved to be a mistake, as it caused the hole in his chest to hurt even more. He held his breath again; he was smacked again. He became annoyed. Who the bloody hell though they had the right to go around smacking him? He was trying to feel _less _pain, dammit! The ebony-haired man rolled over on his back to confront his attacker; he was met with another pair of ruby eyes. So, it was Spandex-Lad, Pasty-Face, Mr. Pansy-Ass Pretty Boy (a.k.a. Shiek) smacking him. Somehow the shadow was not surprised.

"What is **wrong** with you?" he demanded, none to happy with the shadow's plan to stop breathing.

"I'm trying not to hurt the hole in my chest, thank you," the Dark retorted blandly, wincing when he inhaled.

"There's no hole in your chest. Don't be childish. I know it hurts you two to be separated, but Link will be back. Could you at least find something to do until he returns?"

"But it's so boring without him…" he almost whined it, but couldn't seem to feel any emotion. Dark was certain that the part of his chest that usually felt that emotion had been cut away. "Without Link, there isn't anything, really…it's just like being back in that soggy pit of a room…" he sighed.

Spandex-Lad was _staring_. Again.

_STARING!!!!_

There was a long pause as Pasty-Face stared at him, and Dark felt he should have been angry about this turn of events. He was, however, unable to feel anger. Pretty Boy finally spoke.

"Come with me to Kakariko (A/N: I've been reading to many stuff, I almost wrote 'Cockariko' O_O). That is the location of the next temple. Perhaps, while Link staves off evil in the past, you can do the same in this time until he returns. We can, at least, try to keep any major-league demons from rising forth from the earth to exact their fiery revenge on those that banished them. And, when Link returns, everything should be right again…or, I should say, as right as it had been before he left."

The shadow was unenthusiastic about all the 'we's and implications of teamwork and happy-peppy-togetherness with Pretty Boy. It was simply wrong. When Dark didn't answer immediately, Sheik continued:

"If you would like to accompany me to Kakariko, choose 'Okay'. If you would rather tell me to fuck off, select 'Fuck Off!'."

Dark contemplated, and decided that anything was a step above staying there alone. He selected Okay.

They arrived at Kakariko. Dark was quiet for the larger portion of the journey. Sheik wasn't as nice to be with has Link. He also wasn't as nice, period. When he explained things, he was condescending, and tended to reiterate the things Dark _knew_ and was too vague about the things he didn't know. When the shadow asked why he was like that, the sheikah replied saying that it was 'in the binary code'. See previous documentation of the fact that Sheik is confusing and vague. But the shadow couldn't find a reason to be upset about it; rather, he felt much the way he did before he met his Hero; empty, unresponsive, emotionless. Perhaps the hole in him was his heart, and it was, without his knowledge, in Link's chest rather than his own.

He and Sheik avoided each other for the most part; Sheik would occasionally assign him pointless and tedious objectives to complete, which Dark could not bring himself to whine about, but at a point asked for an explanation for:

"Why exactly must I do these things? I mean, why does a woman with cuckoo allergies take on the responsibility of raising them? How does a cuckoo manage to hide inside of a _sealed_ wooden box? Lastly, what kind of idiot pays useless employees to _not_ build people's houses?"

Sheik answered with bullshit about side quests, which were, apparently, 'innovative and non-linear'. The shadow had shaken his head and left. Sheik was so annoying, it wasn't even humourous any more.

About three days after their arrival, it happened.

Something interesting.

Something interesting _and_ non-linear (and a little innovative, too).

The whole fuckin' village was up in flames. Dark felt many emotions at once; excitement, fear, irony; he realized that Link must have returned to his same time period. However, his thoughts were obstructed by the realization that children were in the village; he couldn't leave them! He wasn't sure, quite, _why_ he couldn't leave them. He didn't even _like_ the little brats! For the three day's he'd been there, the little _dears_ had thrown things at his head (fruit, vegetables, rocks), and ultimately introduced more difficulty into his existence.

Dark blamed his situation on Link's goddamned bleeding heart.

The shadow then ran to _every damn house_ and made absolutely certain that no-one was left to die. And, fortunately, no-one _was_ left to die…

…except Dark.

He was trapped, unfortunately, behind a wooden beam, which had fallen between he himself ad the exit after he'd rescued a village brat. The little bitch got out all right though…why did that make him feel better? Dark hated that kid, he'd thrown rocks at his hairdo!

The poor shadow stood in the corner, trapped; all he could think was:

_Better than that room. Better than that room. Better than that room…_

It was better; Mr. Sympatheic Hero ran to the rescue, as he well should have, considering it was _his_ bleeding heart that had put the shadow in danger.

He ran into the burning place, flames licking at his clothes. Reaching the beam quickly, he revealed a fun-looking toy: a hammer.

He smashed the fallen beam in one strike. Dark immediately liked the hammer.

Link took the brunet's hand, and they ran from the house. The situation was no better outside, however. People were working their asses off, trying to put out the flames, though everyone knew it was hopeless. The flames were abnormal; it was as if they knew precisely how to spread; as if they knew just how to maneuver themselves to destroy as much life as possible.

Link rushed to Sheik, who was glaring intensely into the well. The shadow followed, and asked:

"Link…did you fail?"

Link was about to speak, but Sheik cut in, which caused Dark to twitch involuntarily.

"I should say he didn't. Rather, I'd say he _did_ succeed; but in doing so he had to break a rather important seal, and evil managed to get through. Not the first time this has happened," he finished dryly. Link looked down, biting his lip. Dark could feel Link's guilt from where he stood; Link had told him the tale of how he'd entered the sacred realm to stop Gannon, which had only made way for the Evil King to break in. He was so overcome with guilt—he'd nearly cried when he'd recalled it. The ruby-eyed shadow wasn't in the least bit happy that Sheik had mentioned the event.

Dark was about to unleash a stream of passionate curses at Pretty Boy (yes, he's Pretty Boy again now), but the fiend was suddenly thrown into the air and rotated in circles. Dark felt that it would have been far more humourous if he'd been responsible for it, but still was secretly smug at Pansy-Ass's current position. Mr. Sympathetic Hero was _not_ so glad, though.

Pretty Boy let out a cry of shock (and hopefully pain), and Link cried out in frustration at his own helplessness to aid him. Suddenly, Pretty Boy was thrown several yards away.

Link, ever the bleeding heart, rushed to his side.

Dark rushed with him, not in any way intending to let him out of his sight.

They stopped by the fallen spandex-garbed man. Dark felt something approaching, and knew Link did as well, because the blond knelt before Pretty Boy, shield raised, even though he had no idea what it was.

Link was loyal to everyone but himself.

Dark was loyal to no one but his Hero—his Saviour.

The darker man grabbed the unconscious Pretty Boy and Mr. Bleeding Heart Hero and tossed them away with all the strength he had. He witnessed Link's expression of shock (and what was under his tunic, too, due to the angle at which he fell), and smirked.

The lights in Dark's consciousness were extinguished.


End file.
